On Sun, 13 Sep 2020 09:21:28 +1000, Peter Jason wrote:

I have my legal disk of the above, but it refuses to install on
another machine because it's been "used already three times".

If I isolate it from the Internet by using it on an encrypted VHD will
I still get this refusal?

Then I can continue to use it by unplugging the Internet for the
session?

I have used my MS Office 10 and MS Office 7 so many times I can't count.
Sometimes, rarely, but sometimes, they won't validate.
One time I called Microsoft and they "fixed" it for me.
Dunno what they did.

Basically, for me, the problem is I retire machines and then I install the
Office on another machine, and that adds to the count (which, for Office
2007, has to be at about 10 or so machines by now at least).

As I recall, Microsoft says there is an 'official' way to retire a machine
that you put MS Office on, but that you've since retired.

A search shows the term is "deactivation", as in:
https://answers.microsoft.com/en-us/msoffice/forum/msoffice_install-mso_other-msoversion_other/copy-move-or-transfer-an-office-installation-to/956244a0-385d-4e21-a21e-87b4179111d1